1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to hearing aids. The invention, more particularly, relates to a hearing system having a classifier classifying an auditory environment and selecting a mode of operation for one or more signal processing sub-systems, each having at least two modes of operation. The hearing system includes a hearing aid and a personal communication device. Also, the invention relates to a method of controlling mode selection in a hearing aid. Furthermore the invention relates to a computer-readable storage medium having computer-executable instructions carrying out the method according to the invention when executed in a personal communication device.
2. Prior Art
Basically, a hearing aid has a microphone for converting sound into an electric signal, and amplifier for alleviating the hearing loss of the user and a receiver for converting the amplified electric signal into sound again. Modern, digital hearing aids comprise sophisticated and complex signal processing units for processing and amplifying sound according to a prescription aimed at alleviating a hearing loss for a hearing impaired individual. The major purpose of a hearing aid is to improve speech intelligibility. State of art hearing aids have features for recognizing speech and suppressing noise in an audio signal picked up by the hearing aid. A useful element in the statistical analyzes is percentile levels. Percentile levels provide information on the level distribution, that is, how the loudness level of the incoming signal changes over time. When obtained for multiple frequencies, this information provides quite a detailed picture of the auditory environment. U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,804,974 B and 8,411,888 B describe the operation of a hearing aid classifier in details.
The purpose of the invention is to provide an improved classifier for program selection in a hearing aid.